The UK construction industry seems to be walking the talk of gender equality, but progress is slow. We asked six women – three senior managers and three younger women with more recent experience of joining the industry – to give us their perspectives on the challenges and opportunities for a sector still struggling to compete for talent with more glamourous occupations.
In our latest whitepaper, we evaluate the challenges that women face within the construction sector, and the importance of gender equality. We cover:
- Treatment of women within the workplace
- Education & training
- The benefits of diversity
- Women leaders
- PPE
Our interviewees agree that this testing agenda also represents a massive opportunity for the industry to re-position construction as a progressive sector committed to sustainable and socially valuable development. In other words, a good fit for young talent (female and male) seeking worthwhile work with real purpose and relevance to their changing world.
There’s a lack of senior women, and construction has fared worse than other industries. But it starts in schools – girls don’t feel they should go into science; there’s an issue at that mid-level stage when working women start to think about having a family; and coming back into the workforce is also a difficult time when we lose quite a lot of women.